Practical Tips for Writing
Effective Papers
Menachem Elimelech
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
NEWT presentation, January 8, 2021
http://oncirculation.com/2013/05/22/write-that-journal-article-in-7-days/
Publishing a paper can be a long
journey….
Highly Recommended to Read
G.M. Whitesides, Harvard University, is one the
world most cited chemists and author of over 1,300
journal publications
Tips from Whitesides…. Outline!
Outline! Outline!
According to George Whitesides
▪ Interesting and unpublished is
equivalent to non-existent
▪ A paper is also a structure for
planning your research in
progress
▪ You should write/rewrite the
outline in the course of your
research
▪ It is most efficient to write
papers (also proposals and
presentations) from outlines
More Recommended Readings
More Recommended Readings
▪ The Chronicle of Higher Education: Why Academics
Stink at Writing
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Academics-Writing-Stinks/148989/
▪ Bad Writing Contest
http://denisdutton.com/bad_writing.htm/
▪ The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to
Writing in the 21st Century, by Steven Pinker, 2014
General Steps
▪ “To produce a mighty book,
you must choose a mighty
theme” (Herman Melville).
▪ “No great and enduring
volume can ever be written on
the flea... “(Herman Melville).
➢ Topic is important — new, hot
topics are easier to publish,
but strive for rigor and
relevance (R
2
)
General Steps
▪ Criteria for journal: Right
audience is the key; high impact
factor if the journal is
appropriate (not an obscure
journal, like JW Gibbs)
▪ Start drafting the outline of the
paper as you continue to collect
data; it will help you to better
plan the experiments
▪ Decide about a suitable journal and rough title of the paper
▪ Likely journals depend on the topic and your field/peers. In the
environmental engineering/science field: ES&T (and its sister
journals), Water Research, and other more specialized journals
▪ Can aim higher – e.g., Energy & Environmental Science (EES),
Nature “baby journals”, PNAS....The ultimate: Science, Nature
Outline as a Planning Tool
▪ Think about what data you plan to collect and how
to present the data most effectively (insightful
figures, detailed tables, etc.)
▪ Sketch the future figures (can be done even by
hand) with the expected data; this will help you to
design the experiments
▪ Get ideas about figures and style from good
published papers that you read (of well respected
and impactful authors that you appreciate)
General: Paper Structure for Drafting
the Outline
▪ Papers usually have the following sections:
• Abstract (with TOC Art/graphic abstract)
• Highlights (some journals; mostly Elsevier journals)
• Introduction
• Theory or Modeling (for papers with modeling, if model is
new)
• Materials and Methods
• Results and Discussion (some split to “Results” and
“Discussion” as separate sections)
• Conclusion (ES&T doesn’t have this section)
▪ Plan on ~4-8 figures and a few tables (if any) presenting
important data
▪ Most journals have online Supporting Information for other
data (usually less important or “boring” data)
Outline ― General
▪ Decide about the journal and adopt its style for
sections, subsections, etc.
▪ Most journals allow sections and subsections. Some
(like Elsevier journals) allow sub-subsections (e.g.,
2.1, 2.1.x, 2.1.1.x)
▪ Think about a logical way to present the data so you
can tell the “story” of your research in a way that is
easy to follow and understand
▪ Ideas should flow logically and in the right order
▪ Creative research, but effective writing ―
Story NOT a mystery
The Outline
▪ Have the headings (titles) of all sections and
subsections (and sub-subsections) in order
▪ Indicate what figures, tables, and equations
will be included in each of the sections or
subsections
▪ Provide final form of figures (if you have data)
and sketch of what you hope will be the data
while you are still collecting data or planning
experiments
▪ Provide equations and detailed figure and
table captions
Outline: Start with Title Page
Outline: Rest of the Paper
Outline: Include the Last Paragraph of
the Introduction
Outline: Figures with Figure Captions
Outline: Figures with Figure Captions
Outline: Figures with Figure Captions
Outline: Figures with Figure Captions
Outline: Supporting Information
Outline: Supporting Information – More
on Materials and Methods
Outline: Supporting Information – More
Figures and Tables
Outline: Supporting Information – More
Figures and Tables
Outline: Review Article (Title Page)
Outline: Review Article (Main Paper)
Outline: Review Article (Figures)
Outline: Review Article (Figures)
Outline: Critical Review
Title
▪ Attractive titles, but not too “commercial”, “PR”
style
▪ Should reflect the contents of the paper
▪ Concise but still informative
▪ Avoid jargon, symbols, commercial names
▪ Avoid papers with titles followed by “Part 1: xxx”
(with future papers having “Part 2: yy” etc.)
Example of Not So Good Titles
(Yes…my papers )
Example of Not So Good Titles
Abstract
▪ Concise, yet informative (some journals have word
count limit)
▪ Length – about 0.5 to 0.75 page (single space)
▪ Unless it is a relatively new area of research, no need
for general/overview opening sentences
▪ Not too general and vague
▪ Some specific/quantitative details (but not too much)
▪ Avoid acronyms, equations, references
▪ Avoid heavy jargon
▪ Think about some busy researchers who read only
the abstract…..
Abstract (Research Article with a strict
word count limit for abstracts)
Abstract (Research Article): Use Effective
TOC Art or Graphic Abstract
Abstract
Abstract (Letter, Feature/Perspective
Article) –Shorter than a Research Article
Abstract (Letter, Feature/Perspective
Article) –Shorter than a Research Article
Highlights (some journals)
▪ Typically, 3-5 highlights; each highlight is limited to ~85
characters (with spaces)
▪ Typically, one highlight on what you have done; the
others on the main findings
▪ Example:
• RO is significantly more energy efficient than CDI for
brackish water desalination
• Novel simplified CDI circuit model can predict key
aspects of energetic performance
• Development of CDI electrode materials will marginally
improve energy efficiency
• CDI cannot compete with RO on the basis of both
energy consumption and capital cost
Highlights (some journals)
▪ Examples:
• SiNPs or zwitterionic polymer brushes were grafted on TFC
membrane surfaces.
• SiNP coating cannot prevent calcium-ion induced organic fouling
mechanism.
• Electrostatic attraction aggravates organic fouling of SiNP-
modified membrane.
• Zwitterionic polymer coating imparts excellent organic fouling
resistance.
➢ We present a fouling-resistant thin-film composite forward osmosis
membrane
➢ An amine-rich polyamide active layer facilitates surface functionalization
with PEG
➢ Improved organic fouling resistance at high (250 mg/L) alginate feed
concentrations
Introduction
▪ At least 3-4 paragraphs (short paragraphs, each ~ 1/3
page or less, but no less than 3 sentences)
▪ First paragraph – overview about the general, broad
importance
▪ Second paragraph (optional) – more overview about the
specific focus of your paper
▪ Middle paragraph(s) – critical but elegant review of past
work
▪ One before last (important one!) – based on the above
critical review, why your paper is needed and how it will
add to the body of knowledge
▪ Last paragraph – state the objectives and scope of the
paper, with possibly a general finding and/or importance
Last Paragraph of Introduction
▪ State the objective(s) and scope of the paper —
don’t repeat the abstract!
▪ Avoid specific details on the experiments and
detailed results
▪ After stating the objective, highlight in general
terms what you have done and the
general/broad findings
General Tips for Writing the Main
Body of Paper
▪ Use short paragraphs (typically ~ 4-6
sentences)
▪ Minimize the use of long sentences
▪ Simple is better!
▪ Elegant and eloquent, but not Shakespearean
▪ Avoid redundancy
▪ Can use “we”, “our”; but NOT “I”, “my”
▪ When you are not sure about style (e.g.,
equations), look at previously published papers
in that journal
Conclusion Section
▪ “Conclusion” or “Concluding Remarks” — not
“Conclusions”
▪ Do not repeat the abstract
▪ Summarize the key findings
▪ Indicate the broader impact
▪ Avoid equations
▪ ES&T and some other journals do not have a
Conclusion section
▪ For ES&T can use “Implications”
Figures
▪ Thoughtful presentation of data
▪ Avoid simple figures with only one data set
▪ Use multiple panel figures if possible
▪ Large fonts and symbols
▪ Clear and easy to read legends
▪ Units for y and x axes; e.g. “Residence Time (min)”
▪ Moderately thick lines
▪ Provide very detailed figure captions with all
necessary experimental conditions
▪ Use colors to improve readability
Examples of Good Figures
Examples for Figures: Use Large Fonts
0
30
60
90
120
150
180
(C)(B)
Water CA in Air
Oil CA in Air
Oil CA Underwater
17−FAS Coated
PVDF
9−FAS Coated
PVDF
Contact Angle (
)
PVA Coated
PVDF
(A)
Examples of Good Figures: Colors
0
2
4
6
8
4-bilayers
Concentration (2 mM)
Na2SO4CaCl2
CP Modulus, CPM (
C
m
/
C
b
)
NaCl
A
NF270
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
J
w, salt
/ J
w, DI
0
2
4
6
8
Concentration (20 mM)
Na2SO4CaCl2
CP Modulus, CPM (
C
m
/
C
b
)
NaCl
B
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
J
w, salt
/ J
w, DI
Example of Multiple-Panel Figure
Examples of Good Figures
Werber, et al., Nature Reviews Materials, 1 (2016) 1-15.
Examples of Good Figures (detailed
figure caption)
If Rejected……
• Everyone gets rejections, even Nobel Laureates
• Did you “aim too high”? Choose another journal.
• Can write an appeal letter to the Editor
• Consider your reviewers.
– When suggesting reviewers, suggest people that you
know are likely to give good and fair reviews
• If you feel you got a bad review and you think you
know who the person is, then just request they be
excluded from future submissions.
• Always make some changes to a paper before
resubmitting elsewhere
Recap
▪ Good writing takes tremendous efforts
▪ Always start with an outline!
▪ Creative research, but effective writing ― a
story not a mystery
▪ Strive for Rigor and Relevance (R
2
)
